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Commitments, Contingencies, and Guarantees
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments, Contingencies, and Guarantees

 


Note 20.  Commitments, Contingencies, and Guarantees

The Company’s credit commitments as of December 31, 2020, were as follows:

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

December 31, 2020

 

Unfunded Commitments to Extend Credit

 

$

2,787,123

 

Standby Letters of Credit

 

 

100,186

 

Commercial Letters of Credit

 

 

10,511

 

Total

 

$

2,897,820

 

 

Unfunded Commitments to Extend Credit

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of the terms or conditions established in the contract.  Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee.  Since commitments may expire without being drawn, the total commitment amount does not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

Standby and Commercial Letters of Credit

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party.  Standby letters of credit generally become payable upon the failure of the customer to perform according to the terms of the underlying contract with the third party, while commercial letters of credit are issued specifically to facilitate commerce and typically result in the commitment being drawn on when the underlying transaction is consummated between the customer and a third party.  The contractual amount of these letters of credit represents the maximum potential future payments guaranteed by the Company.  The Company has recourse against the customer for any amount it is required to pay to a third party under a standby letter of credit, and generally holds cash or deposits as collateral on those standby letters of credit for which collateral is deemed necessary.  Assets valued at $73.3 million secured certain specifically identified standby letters of credit as of December 31, 2020.  As of December 31, 2020, the standby and commercial letters of credit had remaining terms ranging from 1 to 14 months.

Contingencies

The Company, along with other members of Visa, are parties to Loss and Judgment Sharing Agreements (the “Agreements”), which provide that the Company along with other member banks of Visa, will share, based on their proportionate interests in Visa, in any losses from certain litigation specified in the Agreements.  In March 2008, Visa funded an escrow account from its initial public offering to settle claims covered under the Agreements.  In connection with the initial public offering, the Company received restricted Class B common stock in Visa.  Should the escrow account established by Visa not be sufficient to cover litigation claims specified in the Agreements, Visa is entitled to fund additional amounts to the escrow account by reducing each member bank’s Class B conversion ratio to unrestricted Class A shares.  As of December 31, 2020, management believes that the Company’s indemnification of Visa, related to the costs of these lawsuits, will be sufficiently funded from the escrow account or through future reductions in the conversion ratio.  See Note 3 Investment Securities and Note 17 Derivative Financial Instruments for more information.

 


On September 9, 2016, a purported class action lawsuit was filed by a Bank customer primarily alleging Bank of Hawaii’s practice of determining whether consumer deposit accounts were overdrawn based on “available balance” (which deducts debit card transactions that have taken place but which have not yet been posted) was not properly applied or disclosed to customers.  On December 6, 2019, the parties executed a settlement agreement subject to court approval.  The settlement provides for forgiveness of certain related and previously charged off overdraft fees, and a payment by the Company of $8.0 million into a class settlement fund the proceeds of which will be used to refund class members, and to pay attorneys’ fees, administrative and other costs, in exchange for a complete release of all claims asserted against the Company.  Although the Company previously established a $2.0 million reserve relating to this claim, the reserve has been increased to a total of $8.0 million as of December 31, 2020. On December 22, 2020, the Court issued an Order Granting Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and the settlement became effective on January 21, 2021.  Refunds to current customers were issued by the Bank on January 26, 2021, and the Claims Administrator is in the process of issuing refunds to class members with closed accounts.

In addition to the litigation noted above, the Company is subject to various other pending and threatened legal proceedings arising out of the normal course of business or operations.  On at least a quarterly basis, the Company assesses its liabilities and contingencies in connection with outstanding legal proceedings utilizing the most recent information available.  On a case-by-case basis, reserves are established for those legal claims for which it is probable that a loss will be incurred and the amount of such loss can be reasonably estimated.  Based on information currently available, management believes that the eventual outcome of these claims against the Company will not be materially in excess of such amounts reserved by the Company.  However, in the event of unexpected future developments, it is possible that the ultimate resolution of these matters may result in a loss that materially exceeds the reserves established by the Company.

Risks Related to Representation and Warranty Provisions

The Company sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market primarily to the Fannie Mae.  The Company also pools FHA insured and VA guaranteed residential mortgage loans for sale to Ginnie Mae.  These pools of FHA-insured and VA-guaranteed residential mortgage loans are securitized by Ginnie Mae.  The agreements under which the Company sells residential mortgage loans to Fannie Mae or Ginnie Mae and the insurance or guaranty agreements with FHA and VA contain provisions that include various representations and warranties regarding the origination and characteristics of the residential mortgage loans.  Although the specific representations and warranties vary among investors, insurance or guarantee agreements, they typically cover ownership of the loan, validity of the lien securing the loan, the absence of delinquent taxes or liens against the property securing the loan, compliance with loan criteria set forth in the applicable agreement, compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, and other matters.  As of December 31, 2020, the unpaid principal balance of residential mortgage loans sold by the Company was $2.5 billion.  The agreements under which the Company sells residential mortgage loans require delivery of various documents to the investor or its document custodian.  Although these loans are primarily sold on a non-recourse basis, the Company may be obligated to repurchase residential mortgage loans or reimburse investors for losses incurred if a loan review reveals that underwriting and documentation standards were potentially not met.  Some agreements may require the Company to repurchase delinquent loans.  Upon receipt of a repurchase request, the Company works with investors or insurers to arrive at a mutually agreeable resolution.  Repurchase demands are typically reviewed on an individual loan by loan basis to validate the claims made by the investor or insurer and to determine if a contractually required repurchase event has occurred.  The Company manages the risk associated with potential repurchases or other forms of settlement through its underwriting and quality assurance practices and by servicing mortgage loans to meet investor and secondary market standards.  For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company repurchased forty residential mortgage loans with an aggregate unpaid principal balance totaling $13.4 million as a result of the representation and warranty provisions contained in these contracts.  The loans were delinquent as to principal and interest at the time of repurchase, however, no material losses were incurred related to these repurchases.  As of December 31, 2020, there were no pending repurchase requests related to representation and warranty provisions.

Risks Relating to Residential Mortgage Loan Servicing Activities

In addition to servicing loans in the Company’s portfolio, substantially all of the loans the Company sells to investors are sold with servicing rights retained.  The Company also services loans originated by other mortgage loan originators.  As servicer, the Company’s primary duties are to: (1) collect payments due from borrowers; (2) advance certain delinquent payments of principal and interest; (3) maintain and administer any hazard, title, or primary mortgage insurance policies relating to the mortgage loans; (4) maintain any required escrow accounts for payment of taxes and insurance and administer escrow payments; and (5) foreclose on defaulted mortgage loans or, to the extent consistent with the documents governing a securitization, consider alternatives to foreclosure, such as loan modifications or short sales.  Each agreement under which the Company acts as servicer generally specifies a standard of responsibility for actions taken by the Company in such capacity and provides protection against expenses and liabilities incurred by the Company when acting in compliance with the respective servicing agreements.  However, if the Company commits a material breach of obligations as servicer, the Company may be subject to termination if the breach is not cured within a specified period following notice.  The standards governing servicing and the possible remedies for violations of such standards vary by investor.  These standards and remedies are determined by servicing guides issued by the investors as well as the contract provisions established between the investors and the Company.  Remedies could include repurchase of an affected loan.  For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company had no repurchase requests related to loan servicing activities.  As of December 31, 2020, there were no pending repurchase requests related to loan servicing activities.

Although to date repurchase requests related to representation and warranty provisions, and servicing activities have been limited, it is possible that requests to repurchase mortgage loans may increase in frequency as investors more aggressively pursue all means of recovering losses on their purchased loans.  However, as of December 31, 2020, management believes that this exposure is not material due to the historical level of repurchase requests and loss trends and thus has not established a liability for losses related to mortgage loan repurchases.  As of December 31, 2020, 99% of the Company’s residential mortgage loans serviced for investors were current.  The Company maintains ongoing communications with investors and continues to evaluate this exposure by monitoring the level and number of repurchase requests as well as the delinquency rates in the loans sold to investors.